Quote:
Originally Posted by Finger Cookin
I don't understand the wondering about the Flames organization and whether they will go full rebuild or can commit to a full rebuild. Nothing the organization has done, with various management in place and more or less the same ownership or majority ownership in place, since the Young Guns era has given any indication this organization ever wants to go full rebuild. It's not not an unknown answer to a simple question. The question has been asked, and the answer has been a definitive no for what, almost 25+ years?
Last rebuild, attendance plummeted, the dollar was trading low, and the team almost left town. I think a thread here has been tracking this season's sagging attendance (perhaps it's rebounded since the teams on-ice results have), and the dollar isn't doing too hot. Say what you will about Edwards and the group, and there's definitely a lot of bad to be said, they want to make the team work in Calgary. Which means they don't want to go through another stretch where the continued existence of the franchise here is in question. And as much as dedicated fans in spaces like this would be excited by a rebuild, the fanbase as a whole has shown little appetite for it.
Whether it's changing up the roster around the edges, or a near complete overhaul of the core like we have seen in the last two seasons, the path will never be full rebuild. It will continue to be focused on staying competitive now and adding for later when possible.
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I don't recall any talk of leaving town in 2013-2016, we had 3 top 6 picks in those years. It was a rebuild in my eyes. I thought it gave this team a marketable product for ~10 years, and it could've been longer with a slightly better asset management.
I do agree that the answer regarding a rebuild in the last 25 years has been definitive, and so was the lack of success in that time period... and specifically the lack of success in the playoffs. I think that savvy businessmen, like the Flames ownership, understand that you need a product that people would want to buy, and constant retooling doesn't accomplish that without exciting play, and/or playoff success.